The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has warned consumers against using Mommy's Bliss Nipple Cream, a nursing cream by MOM Enterprises Inc. According to the FDA, some ingredients in the product may cause respiratory distress or vomiting and diarrhea in infants.

The product is said to soothe and heal the dry or cracked nipples of nursing mothers and label does not instruct mothers to remove the cream before nursing. The product's ingredients in question include chlorphenesin and phenoxyethanol. Chlorphenesin relaxes skeletal muscle and can depress the central nervous system and cause respiratory depression (slow or shallow breathing) in infants, according to the FDA. The administration also finds that phenoxyethanol can depress the central nervous system and may cause vomiting and diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration in infants.

The FDA has not received any reports of injury to infants as a result of the product. According to the FDA, chlorphenesin also can harm the mother by causing dermatitis, a skin condition that can worsen the drying and cracking of nipple skin. For more information, visit www.fda.gov/bbs/topics/NEWS/2008/NEW01839.html.